A Twist In My Sobriety
by Sixty Five Roses
Summary: Sharon volunteers to serve as a buffer for Andy in an unusual family situation. Things spin out of control and raw nerves are touched. Will this bring them together or tear them apart? Please read trigger warning.


**A/N****: This fic takes place after Sharon finds out that Jack dropped out of AA. **

**Trigger Warning: This fic is about alcohol addiction and if you find this kind of material triggering, I recommend you avoid reading this story. **

* * *

Andy's face were pale when he hung up the phone and it took him a moment to compose himself and look up at Sharon, who sat across from him, her coffee untouched. She wasn't sure who it was that called him, but when he saw the caller ID on his iPhone screen, he apologized and said that it was a call he had to take. Whoever it was, it didn't seem like Andy was satisfied with what he was told over the phone.

"Is everything okay?" she asked.

"Yeah, it's nothing. It's just… my father and sister are coming to town," Andy replied, his gaze shifting away from her.

"And that's not a good thing?"

"Well, I'm not sure, really. My father doesn't visit often, and I'm… We don't really get along," Andy couldn't focus his gaze on her and Sharon had a feeling that there was more to that story.

"Do you want to tell me?" she offered.

"No, not really," he replied.

"When are they coming?" Sharon asked and her hand moved across the table and landed on his.

"Tomorrow. They wanna have dinner together at my place. My father probably won't be here longer than a couple of days and I assume my sister will be leaving with him."

"It doesn't sound like they're gonna be here for a long time," Sharon said. "Maybe it's gonna be okay."

"You don't know my father. An hour is enough for him to blow my life over like a hurricane," Andy shook his head.

"What if I joined your dinner as a buffer?" Sharon offered.

"You don't wanna do that, Sharon," Andy replied. Sharon smiled and shrugged as if there was nothing to it.

"We're friends, Andy. We help each other, so if my presence can help you maybe it's a good idea," she spoke slowly.

"You have no idea what you're getting into, Sharon. It's not a regular situation," Andy warned her.

"They don't think we're dating too, right?" Sharon quirked her eyebrow.

"No, I never really told them much about you. I mentioned you a couple of time, so I doubt they would come to that conclusion," Andy said.

"Then I don't see any problem, Andy. As long as you introduce me as a friend, and nothing more, things are gonna be okay."

"Are you sure you wanna be there, Sharon?" Andy asked, his insecurity prominent in his voice.

"I am. And maybe it will help your anxiety if I came over earlier tomorrow and we can cook for them together. What do you say?"

* * *

Her mind was obviously set on helping him, which really, made him feel even more nervous than he normally did when his father was in town. His family was a mess and he already felt like things between Sharon and him were complicated enough. Her meeting his father was not something he was particularly excited about. In fact, he planned for her to seat as far from his father as possible.

He watched her from the corner of his eye as she worked in his kitchen. She was beautiful, her cheeks rosy, her eyes warm and her hands… making a mess of the dough she was kneading.

"Umm, Sharon," he said and came to her side. "That's not exactly how you're supposed to do this." Sharon looked up at him and smiled.

"What do you mean? That's how I always knead," she asked.

"Well, I do it differently," Andy replied. "Let me show you." Sharon stepped aside and let Andy demonstrate his method of kneading the dough.

"When you do it like that, you get small air pockets trapped in the dough and it's gonna be softer after the baking," he explained.

"Can I try?" she asked and Andy nodded and move aside for Sharon to take over. "Like this?"

"Almost," Andy placed his hands on hers and directed her motions. "This way is better." He was surprised when she turned around and planted her lips on his. He thought it was a fragment of his imagination at first, but then she pulled away and shook her head. "What was that for?"

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that," she apologized. "It was just a… silly instinct."

"What?" Andy felt himself becoming even more stressed. It was unlike Sharon to lose her control this way, so this must have been deliberate. "I thought you wanted to be friends." On any other occasion, he would have loved discussing the meaning of their relationship with her, but not today, not now, not when he was already feeling so nervous.

"I do, Andy. I just thought…" she mumbled. "Look, I did this because I thought it would help you calm down a little. You know, kissing helps reduce stress in your body." Sharon shook her head, guilt seeping into her heart. "I didn't mean to confuse you or anything, Andy. I'm sorry. We are friends." Andy nodded and took a step backwards.

"Okay, so… just keep… kneading it like I showed you," he said and turned around to deal with the lasagna he was making. This night was already unbearable and he wasn't sure how he was going to survive the rest of it.

They worked in the kitchen quietly and Andy tried to ignore the worried gazes that Sharon kept sneaking at him. He knew her too well by now, and he was sure that she was feeling guilty about the kiss. She obviously meant well, but it backfired on her, and Andy was sure that the thoughts in her head were spinning out of control, as were his.

When the salad was ready, the lasagna and broccoli quiche in the oven and the cheesecake chilling in the fridge, they both leaned against the counter and looked at each other. Sharon smiled softly and Andy let out a sigh.

"If you wanna tell me what's going on…" she said, letting the rest of the sentence hang in the air between them.

"I don't think you'll be able to understand. Your parents are probably very sweet," Andy said.

"They are, but they can also drive me crazy sometimes. And unlike you, I don't have siblings I can share the burden with," Sharon shrugged.

"I didn't know you're an only child," Andy said.

"I always wished I wasn't," Sharon sighed. "How about you? How many siblings do you have?"

"There used to be four of us," Andy started. "Jimmy was the oldest but he died when he was 9, then there's my brother Tom and then there's Ava, who's 10 years younger than me."

"I really envy you, Andy. I'd give anything to have even one sibling." Sharon's voice was quiet.

"Yeah, it's great, at least some of the time," Andy admitted. The knock on the door startled the both of them. Andy looked at Sharon and reached out for her hands. "God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can and wisdom to know the difference," Andy said.

"That bad?" Sharon asked when he was done.

"Don't say I didn't warn you," Andy said and went out of the kitchen to open the door. Sharon followed him half of the way and stood at a safe distance.

"Andrew!" his sister wrapped her arms around Andy's neck as soon as she saw him.

"Ava," Andy uttered his sister's name softly. "You look beautiful."

"You lost weight, have you been working out?" his sister patted on his shoulder.

"Just a little," he admitted. "Where's dad?"

"He's in the car. I thought I'd give you a heads up, he's a little… you know," Ava said and Sharon could see Andy's shoulders slump.

"Umm, Ava, this is my friend Sharon," Andy turned around and looked at Sharon.

"Oh my God, is it THE SHARON?" Ava called out.

"What do you mean the Sharon?" Andy looked at his sister.

"The one Nicole keeps telling me about," Ava looked between the two of them.

"I don't know what Nicole told you…" Andy said and sneaked a worried look at Sharon who just shrugged.

"It's so nice to meet you, Sharon. I'm Ava," Andy's sister pulled Sharon into a tight hug and kissed her cheek. "You're even more beautiful than she described."

"Thank you, Ava. It's a pleasure to meet you too," Sharon replied.

"Ava, do you need me to take dad out of the car?" Andy asked.

"Yeah, that would be great, but you better take his cane away from him before you do that; he was talking about giving you a good beat," Ava replied and Andy nodded and took the car keys from his sister. "So Sharon, I heard so much about you, but there was one thing I couldn't really get straight," Ava said as she followed Sharon to Andy's living room. "What's the deal with you and my brother?"

"We are close friends," Sharon replied. "And we are colleagues too. In fact, I'm his commanding officer." Sharon stressed the last two words in order to make it clear for Ava.

"Well, I'm happy that he has a friend like you. Nicole said you're an incredible person. She thinks her father really benefits from your company, and coming from Nicole, that's a big compliment."

"Thank you, Ava. I'm flattered. Andy is a wonderful friend and I enjoy spending time with him," Sharon replied.

"You goddamn fool! I hope you go to hell!" they heard a gruff voice.

"That's my dad," Ava smiled apologetically. "He loves Andrew but the two of them have their differences, so to speak." As soon as Andy carried the old man into the house, Sharon could tell by the smell that he was drunk. Realizing that Ava was probably serious about his father wanting to beat Andy, Sharon felt her stomach clenching. Andy really did have a good reason to be scared, she realized. And she now understood why he warned her.

"Dad, what are you doing?" Ava asked when Mr. Flynn shoved Andy and made a beeline towards Andy's fridge. "Dad, you know that Andrew doesn't drink. You won't find any liquor in there!" Ava sprung from the couch and followed her father.

"I'm sorry," Andy looked at Sharon and followed Ava and his father.

"Dad, why don't you take a seat at the dinner table?" he offered his father but the old man shoved him aside again. Walking into the kitchen, Sharon grabbed Andy's arm and pulled it gently, making him follow her out of the kitchen and into the hallway.

"Are you okay?" she asked. Andy's hands were shaking. She took them in hers and looked into his eyes. "I'm here, okay? We can deal with this, and we'll be fine. Just, don't drink or anything."

"I won't," Andy shook his head. "It's really hard seeing him like that. It used to be easier when I was drunk. That's probably the reason my brother is like this too."

"I'm so sorry, Andy. I didn't know," Sharon could barely look into his eyes and Andy could see that she was close to tears. He really didn't want her to witness this, not with everything that happened to her with Jack recently.

"Look, if you wanna bail, it's okay, Sharon. I don't want you to feel obligated to…"

"Andy, can you come over for a minute?" they heard Ava's voice.

"Excuse me," Andy turned around and walked back to the kitchen. Sharon leaned back against the wall and took a deep breath, composing herself. She and Andy never really spoke of his drinking. She had no idea that Andy had to deal with an alcoholic father and brother. Ava seemed to be fine, but addicts were good at hiding their behavior even from the people who were closest to them. Sharon knew that all too well.

"We better start dinner," she heard Ava telling Andy and she took another deep breath and left the safety of the hallway to help Andy serve dinner.

* * *

It seemed that Andy's father seemed to calm a little once they got dinner started. He didn't really seem to acknowledge Sharon's presence around the table until he pointed at her with his fork and looked at his son.

"Who's this?" he asked.

"It's Sharon, she's a good friend of mine, dad," Andy replied. "She helped me cook dinner." Mr. Flynn looked at Sharon for a moment and then at Andy.

"Friend, you call it…" he muttered under his breath. "Is that what you call your girlfriends in LA?"

"She's not my girlfriend, dad." Andy looked at Sharon with a worried gaze. She shook her head and shrugged.

"Are you fucking my son?" Mr. Flynn looked at Sharon and Andy could see the color draining from her face. "I don't know what happened to his standards. He usually goes for younger, prettier girls."

"You're being disrespectful, dad," Andy said to his father in a warning tone. "I'm sorry," he said and looked at Sharon.

"I'm just telling the truth here, you can do better than this, son," Mr. Flynn insisted.

"Dad, that's enough," Ava said and Sharon could feel her own hands starting to shake.

"Sharon is a very good friend and she's a great person and I'd appreciate it if you keep your opinions to yourself. And you better apologize for what you said." Andy did his best to keep his cool. On several occasions in the past he punched his old man when he got really out of line. He really didn't want to do that in front of Sharon.

"You're the stupidest son I have," his father said.

"Dad!" Ava called out.

"Like you're any better," Mr. Flynn turned to his daughter. "You're about to leave me too, and then what?"

"What are you talking about, dad?" Andy asked. "Ava?"

"Yeah, tell your brother how you're going to just leave your old man here in LA," Mr. Flynn called out.

"Ava, what's going on?" Andy asked and looked at his sister. Ava looked at her father and then at Andy.

"Andrew, I'm… I'm sorry. There's no good way to say this," she started. "My cancer is back, and I… things are not looking up." Andy felt Sharon's hand slipping into his, gently squeezing it.

"What do you mean, things are not looking up?" he asked.

"She means she's going to die this time and leave me with my most idiot son!" Mr. Flynn interjected.

"No, Ava. I'm sure we can find a doctor who will be able to help you. You got over this once; you can do it again," Andy said.

"They give me four months to live, Andrew. There's really nothing left to do. And I've been taking care of dad for a long time, but I won't be able to do this anymore, and Tom is a mess. He can't take care of dad. You're the only one," Ava had tears in her eyes. Sharon felt Andy's hand slip out of hers as he pushed his chair back and walked over to his sister. Ava stood up and let her older brother wrap his arms around her.

"Do you know how much I love you?" he asked.

"I love you too, Andrew. You're the sweetest brother I have," Ava said and tears streamed down her face.

* * *

Sharon placed the last of the plates into the dishwasher and turned to look at Andy for the first time since Ava and his father left. He was pale and looked very tired. She really wasn't sure what more she could say or do.

"I'm so sorry for the way my father spoke to you, Sharon. He's drunk and an idiot," Andy said.

"You don't need to apologize for things someone else said, Andy," Sharon replied. They looked at each other silently for a long moment. "I'm sorry about Ava."

"I don't know what I'll do without her, Sharon," Andy looked devastated. Sharon turned around and took two mugs out of the cupboard.

"Hot chocolate?" she offered, her voice low and warm. Andy nodded slowly. Sharon already knew her way around his kitchen, and he trusted her to find what she needed easily. "What are you going to do about your father?"

"He can't stay with me," Andy said. "I'll need to talk to Ava about putting him in a home; he needs someone to take care of him and I can't do that. I know it sounds horrible..."

"It doesn't, actually," Sharon said. "I think the less you be around alcoholics who are still drinking, the better, especially if it's someone you care about." Sharon looked at him meaningfully.

"Yeah," was all Andy could utter.

"Andy," Sharon's voice was incredibly soft when she called his name. He lifted his eyes and looked into her jade eyes. Her gaze was intense and sad. "I don't want you to relapse," she sounded like a little girl for a moment.

"I won't," Andy replied, almost without thought.

"I know that hardships can drive a person away from their sobriety." She looked into the hot chocolate mugs for a moment and then at him. Tears were shining in her eyes. "It's gonna be very hard for me to see you relapse because I care about you a lot and I… I have feelings for you that I never expected to develop and I'm terrified of losing you to addiction. So whether we stay friends or we become something more, I need you to promise me that you'll keep fighting to stay sober." Sharon's voice shook and Andy could tell that saying those words took a great emotional toll on her.

"Of course I will, Sharon. My sobriety means a lot to me. I'm not going to throw it away, because if I do, I'll lose all the people I care about," Andy said, "And did I just hear you admit that you love me more than just a friend?" he asked, trying to lighten up the mood.

"Yeah, I think you did," Sharon replied smiling through her tears. Andy took a step closer to her and cupped her cheeks, his thumbs gently sweeping her tears away.

"Sharon, would you mind staying with me tonight?" he asked.

"What?" Sharon's eyes widened.

"Not like that. I just don't wanna be alone. I'd appreciate it if you could stay with me until the morning," Andy explained. Sharon nodded slowly and wrapped her arms around him, pulling him closer and resting her head on his chest.

"I love you, Andy," she whispered.

"About time," he replied, kissing the crown of her head. They had a long road ahead of them, full of happiness and sorrow, full of hope and despair, but in that moment, they were in limbo, oblivious to everything but the feeling of being in each other's arms.

THE END

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**As usual, I'd love it if you leave me comments or PMs and tell me what you thought of this story. **


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